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Quote by Studs Terkel

“Cannot Hannah Arendt's 'banality of evil' be subject to transposition: the evil of banality?”

Quote by Studs Terkel

Book:American Dreams: Lost and Found

Work

American Dreams: Lost and Found

This book delves into the concept of the American Dream, examining its historical significance and its impact on the lives of individuals across different generations. It investigates the aspirations and challenges faced by people in pursuit of the American Dream, offering insights into the complexities of success, failure, and the American identity. more

Author

Studs Terkel was an American author, born on May 16, 1912, and passed away on October 31, 2008. He is known for his in-depth interviews with the working class and ordinary people in the United States, with his most famous work being 'Working: People Talk About Their Jobs'. more

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“Dorothy Day said - and I'm sure that Kathy Kelly would say the same thing - 'I'm working toward a world in which it will be easier for people to behave decently.' Now, think about that: a world in which it will be easier for people to behave decently.”

People Thinking World Said Easier Behave

Author:Studs Terkel

“I call myself a radical conservative. What's that? Well, let's analyze it. Go to the dictionary. Radical: One who gets to the roots of things. And I'm a conservative because I want to conserve the green of the grass, the potability of drinking water, the first amendment of the Constitution and whatever sanity we have left.”

Want Firsts Wells Left Water Roots Constitution Green Drinking Conservative Radical Grass Sanity Amendments Dictionary First Amendment Drinking Water

Author:Studs Terkel

“I guess I was seeking some balance in the wildlife of the city as Rachel Carson sought it in nature. In unbalanced times, balance is as difficult to come by as Parsifal's Grail.”

Difficult Cities Balance Seeking Wildlife Unbalanced

Book:The Studs Terkel Reader: My American Century

Source: The Studs Terkel Reader: My American Century

“I have a big mouth, and I never met a petition I didn't like, so of course in the McCarthy days I got in trouble.”

Bigs Courses Trouble Mets Mouths Petitions

Author:Studs Terkel

“I never drove a car. I'm hopeless that way. I press the wrong buttons on the tape recorder. But if the person I'm interviewing helps me out, that person feels needed. People need to feel needed.”

People Ifs Way Needs Feels Persons Helping Car Needed Presses Help Me Hopeless Tape Buttons Recorders

Author:Studs Terkel

“I said, "Suppose communists come out against cancer, do we have to automatically come out for cancer?'" I can't take back that I'm against the poll tax, that I'm against lynching, that I'm for peace.”

Said I Can Taxes Cancer Communist Polls Lynching

Author:Studs Terkel

“I'm called an oral historian, which is something of a joke. Oral history was here long before the pen, long before Gutenberg and the printing press. The difference is I have a tape recorder in my hand.”

Long Hands Differences Jokes Presses Pens Historian Tape Printing Recorders Printing Press Oral History Gutenberg

Author:Studs Terkel

“In order for us, black and white, to disenthrall ourselves from the harshest slavemaster, racism, we must disinter our buried history.... We are all the Pilgrim, setting out on this journey.”

Order Black White Journey Racism Setting Settings Buried Black And White Pilgrim

Book:The Studs Terkel Reader: My American Century

Source: The Studs Terkel Reader: My American Century

“It is still the arena of those who dream of the City of Man and those who envision a City of Things. The battle appears to be forever joined. The armies, ignorant and enlightened, clash by day as well as night. Chicago is America's dream, writ large. And flamboyantly.”

Men Wells Stills Dream America Night Cities Forever Battle Army Ignorant Enlightened Chicago Arena Clash

Book:Studs Terkel's Chicago

Source: Studs Terkel's Chicago

“My doctors were of one mind: unless something was immediately done, I had maybe six months to live. A quintuple bypass was suggested. Quintuple! I was impressed, though somewhat disturbed because I was in the middle of work on a new book.”

Mind Book Done Middle Months Six Doctors Impressed Six Months Disturbed New Books Bypass

Book:Will the Circle Be Unbroken?: Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith

Source: Will the Circle Be Unbroken?: Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith